The FLCGB Breed Health Survey is now online and available for Finnish Lapphund
owners to
participate in, find out more here.

Don't forget that you
can use the links on this page to check out the results of DNA tests
for prcdPRA and Pompe Disease

The Finnish Lapphund is
generally healthy in comparison to many other breeds.

The Kennel Club, the British
Veterinary Association and the breeders in the Finnish Lapphund Club of Great
Britain have worked together to ensure that mandatory health tests on Finnish
Lapphunds are carried out before breeding. On 1st January 2010, new eye tests
were introduced - click here for
more information and for 2013 a test to identify whether a dog is clear or a
carrier of the Pompe disease gene was introduced.

If you are thinking of buying a
Finnish Lapphund, then please go to a breeder
who is a member of the Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain and who will have
carried out all the tests before breeding and made informed decisions on the
sire and dam to increase the likelihood of having healthy pups.

The results of health tests are
given below to assist breeders, owners and puppy purchasers with understanding
the health profile of Finnish Lapphunds.

If you have a health question,
would like to report a health problem or send a test result into the club then
please see the links below or contact Mary Starling, the Health
Co-ordinator at starlapps@gmail.com.

If your dog is showing any sign
of distress or discomfort or any unusual symptoms, then always go to your vet as
soon as possible - there is no substitute for professional advice.

FLCGB
Health Survey 2013 Update

In spring 2013
FLCGB launched an online Health Survey. All
members and known Finnish lapphund owners were
contacted (repeatedly - and we do apologise for
this!) to try and encourage as many as possible
to take part. I am very happy to announce that
the survey was a huge success, with 291
entries! A previous survey done by the Kennel
Club and BVA in 2004 only received 48 entries,
so this was an excellent improvement. A full
report and results will be available towards the
end of the summer.

We also had a
little gift to give out to one lucky participant
of the survey; congratulations to SUSAN ROSS,
owner of Bear

We thank you ever so much for
taking part!

A huge thank you to all those who
assisted me in putting this together, your
feedback and input was invaluable.

Sara Iversen

Description

Details

Useful Links

CLUB CONTACT :Ask a health question, report a health problem,
send a test result into the club, report a dog
passing away please contact the Health
Coordinator, Mary Starling.

See the KC and Finnish Lapphund Club of Great
BritainCode
of Ethicsfor
the rules on breeding using these tests.

Annual Eye Examinations by specialist vets and
Gene Tests for prcdPRA are both essential for
preventing new cases of vision loss.

New for
2013Voluntary DNA test for Pompe
disease.This list is updated monthly and
breeders are advised to monitor tested dogs for
any close relation to current breeding stock. If
such is found, we advise to test breeding dogs
before use".

RESULTS:Find a dog's health test results and, if you are
buying a puppy or breeding, check the results of
the dam and sire and earlier generations.

The FLC of GB is very grateful to members for
permission to use the data. Also the UK Kennel
Club for permission to use data from the breed
health database and the Finnish Kennel Club &
the Finnish Lapphund Club of Finland for use of
the KoiraNet database.

To ensure health is monitored in the breed and
research is supported, all test results should
be sent to the FLC of GB Breed Archive. For the
Certificate of Eye Examination, the KC only
holds data on Schedule A conditions i.e. GPRA.
The BVA does not send copies of the Certificates
to the Breed Club. To make sure all eye
conditions are picked up and your dog's full eye
results are recorded on the Breed Archive
database, please send a clear photocopy or scan
of your dog's Certificate of Eye Examination to
Sara Iversen, FLC of GB Health Co-ordinator athealth@finnishlapphund-club.co.uk.

BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia
Scheme: Hip Scores-
for KC Registered dogs and their dams and sires
(one-off test). Includes Hip Score Comparison
Table. Sources: the KC, BVA, KoiraNet and the
FLC of GB Breed Archive. The latest (as of
18/7/13) results can be seen
here.

Eye Test Resultscovering
the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme (annual test) and the
prcdPRA gene test for KC Registered dogs
(one-off test). Sources: the KC and the FLCGB Breed Archive. The latest (as of 18/7/13)
results can be seen
here.

Pompe Disease Results one off voluntary
DNA test to determine whether a dog is affected,
a carrier
or clear. The latest (as of 18/7/13)
results can be seen
here.

Emailon
Epilepsy and Cataracts, Autumn 2008 from the
University of Helsinki.

HOW TO HELP:Find out how to support further research into
the health of Finnish Lapphunds. Your dog's data
is essential to researchers in the UK and
Finland working on new tests for health
improvement. They need as many samples as
possible of the types of dogs listed below to
help develop gene tests:

The Animal Health Trust needs samples from
healthy dogs which are over 8 years old, which
have no history of inherited disease and which
have been given the all clear by veterinary
examination e.g. the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme
test.

The Animal Health Trust also needs samples from
dogs with any type of clinically diagnosed
disease, inherited or family related e.g.
diagnosed as having Idiopathic Epilepsy or
diagnosed by a BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme test as
affected with Cataracts, PRA, Primary Lens
Luxation, Sebaceous adenitis, Cerebellar ataxia
or Multifocal Retinal Dysplasia. Also samples
from close relatives of affected dogs. By close
relatives we mean parents, siblings and
grandparents.

The University of Helsinki's research team also
needs samples from dogs which have been given
the all clear by a BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme test
and dogs which are clinically diagnosed as
affected with Idiopathic Epilepsy or Cataracts.
The team also needs samples from close relatives
of affected dogs. By close relatives we mean
parents, siblings and grandparents - the older
the better.

Giving your dog's DNA is very straightforward
with a cheek swab kit or blood sample kit. At
the AHT, the Finnish Lapphund falls into two
areas of funding: a project to investigate
inherited eye conditions in northern breeds and
there is also a European-wide consortium, of
which Dr. Hannes Lohi's lab at the Univeristy of
Helsinki is involved, to investigate canine
epilepsy.

Finland's University of Helsinki team have
research programmes on Idiopathic Epilepsy and
Hereditary Cataracts in the Finnish Lapphund.
See the instructions on how to provide samples
at the end of the document
University of Helsinki Research.

The Animal Health
Trustis
the UK's leading veterinary charity dedicated to
improving the health and welfare of dogs, horses
and cats. Please support them with a donation or
by buying gifts from their web site.